Temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification (marriage recognized by the law of the Republic of Poland)

Introduction

The migration rules ensure that certain sponsors who are third-country nationals (i.e., not nationals of an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland) or stateless persons can exercise their right to family reunification, including:

• a person remaining with another third-country citizen in a marriage recognized by the law of the Republic of Poland.

A temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification in the case of spouses is granted only to those foreigners who are in a real and duly documented marriage, and this relationship is recognized by Polish law. It must therefore be a marriage of two persons of different sexes with the capacity to marry, legally registered, non-polygamous, and without a purely religious character. Staying in such a relationship must also justify the foreigner's stay in Poland for a period longer than 3 months.

A foreigner to whom a family member intends to join or with whom they already reside in Poland should reside on the territory of the Republic of Poland on a specific basis (detailed information on the grounds of stay can be found in the Requirements tab, with a reservation, as below ***).

The family member should additionally meet the condition of having health insurance, a source of stable and regular income sufficient to cover the costs of living for themself and their dependent family members (paragraph 2 (a) and b) and have a place of residence provided on the territory of the Republic of Poland (paragraph 3). These conditions do not apply to the spouse of a foreigner covered by international protection in Poland if the application for a permit is submitted within 6 months after being granted this protection.

This permit is granted in the form of an administrative decision by the voivode, competent for the place of residence of the foreigner in Poland or the planned accommodation upon arrival, and in the case of appeal proceedings – by the Head of the Office for Foreigners, until the date of validity of the temporary residence permit granted to their spouse expires or up to 3 years - if their spouse has an indefinite residence title in Poland.

This permit is not automatically renewed – a foreigner interested in continuing their stay in Poland before its expiry should apply for a temporary residence permit, e.g., another temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification, or an indefinite permit (i.e., a permanent residence permit or a long-term EU resident permit), if it meets the requirements necessary to grant it.

If justified by an important interest of the foreigner, in the event of widowhood, divorce or separation, they may apply for another temporary residence permit for the same purpose. Such a permit is renewed once, and the period for which it is granted does not exceed 3 years.

Remember!

• Not every marriage valid in accordance with the law of the foreigner's country of origin is recognized by the law of the Republic of Poland. It must be a marriage of two persons of different sexes registered in accordance with the law, non-polygamous, without a purely religious character, of persons with the capacity to conclude it.

• If you are married, which is not recognized by Polish law, and the granting of a permit is necessary due to the convention obligations of the Republic of Poland in the field of human rights protection, you can apply for a temporary residence permit referred to in Article 187(1)(6) of the Act on Foreigners. Click the link to learn about this permission.

*** If your spouse is just applying for a temporary residence permit:

• to perform intra-corporate transfer work

• for the long-term mobility of a manager, specialist, or trainee employee, as part of an intra-corporate transfer

• for the purpose of conducting scientific research

• for the long-term mobility of the researcher

- you can apply for permission for the purpose of family reunification before they obtained this permission. If the application for a permit is submitted on the same day or within 3 days from the date of submitting the application, the application will be examined by the voivode competent for examining their application immediately after examining their application.